Help with white peony??

Hello I recently received my order of White Peony tea. I followed the instructions recommended by Adagio and steeped 2 teaspoons in 1 cup of water for 4 minutes at 195 degrees. The second steeping I tried it at 180 for 7-8 minutes. However, it is now what i expected. I had to add sugar to make it appealing and I couldn't really sense any natural sweetness. It almost had a tart, bitter flavor. I know that can be from too hot water or oversteeping, but i Followed the instructions. Any advice? Thanks

For most white teas, I like to brew them even cooler to start, usually 160 degrees, and shorter, 30-90 seconds first infusion.

I'd suggest setting yourself up so you can sip the tea at different times after starting the infusion--in a teapot or small pitcher--and start with the cooler water. Pour out a tiny sip at 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds, and keep going until you like what you have, then call that your preferred first infusion time.

I have good results with Adagio's White Peony at 180 degrees for three minutes. I use the same timing for one to two more infusions. Not sure on the exact amount of leaf, hard to measure this one by teaspoon's. I just grab a large pinch out of the bag to 8oz of water.

wow, great advice guys, thank you debunix!!! that's some great advice!!! i'll try that next time. i would really like to not have to use sugar because i feel that it wastes the natural-flavor of the tea! (as well as its price lol!)

also, i noticed that some of the leaves are slightly brown. shouldn't they be green? the other leaves that were mixed in seemed to be dead (brown). Is this normal? And i took your advice dubnunix, but it didn't seem to improve. I tried it at 50 secs, 1:30, and finally stopped at 2 minutes. I still couldn't sense any natural sweetness, only a slight bitterness. Maybe white peony just isn't my cup of tea ;P?

garrettmc wrote:also, i noticed that some of the leaves are slightly brown. shouldn't they be green? the other leaves that were mixed in seemed to be dead (brown). Is this normal? And i took your advice dubnunix, but it didn't seem to improve. I tried it at 50 secs, 1:30, and finally stopped at 2 minutes. I still couldn't sense any natural sweetness, only a slight bitterness. Maybe white peony just isn't my cup of tea ;P?

It is perfectly normal, white Peony often has many brown leaves in it, it has to do with how it is processed. White teas can be quite different than green teas.

Thanks! That diagram was fantastic! And it's good to know that my order is not a misfit. Perhaps I should just brew longer to get more sweetness? I had high expectations for this tea, but so far it's failed me

Im used to brewing all my whites with the general rule of 1 teaspoon for every cup or 6oz. I noticed as well that on the packaging it says 1.5 per cup. Ive read elsewhere on the web about using more tea with less steeping time, and also from what debunix wrote. Ill have to try that out because tonight I just had some white peony and i used 1 teaspoon a cup and steeped for 7 minutes. Is that too long and too less? I know everyone has their preferred strength, but this tea hasnt won me over yet. Im going to try it again with the advice from above.

Well personally I've kinda found my sweet spot for white peony. I brewed it at 180 for two minutes, but for the next brew i'm gonna try 10 at 170 (just to see how i like the other extreme). however, i doubt that 1tsp of white peony leaves are enough. If you want to be able to appreciate the full flavor I would say you need AT LEAST 2tsps, that's the advice from Adagio and I've seen the same everywhere else. Like debunix said, it's all about experimentation. But don't give up on white yet, once you find what you're looking for, and you will, you won't believe what those little leaves can do good luck

Yeah, experimentation is definitely the key. I wont give up on white peony and would never give up on white as a whole, especially since my favorite teas are white teas and i know what those special leaves can do . Ive had every white tea adagio has to offer. Silver needle is one of my favorites along with other flavored whites. I still have many whites to try that arent available on adagio, i just have to find them. Luckily we have debunix and all the other "lord of the teas" that we have to help us out! Next time I have peony, im going to try the 180 for 2 and see how I like it. Most likely ill try that test tomorrow haha.

well last night i did mine at 180 for six minutes and honestly I couldn't tell much of difference over 2 minutes! tonight i'm gonna go all out and do 180 for 12 minutes! the only thing i did notice was that the white was a little more pronouced, but it wasn't the change i expected. Also, though i live in the country, our water is very "minerally" I used bottled water last night and it changed the consistency in a way. (seemed to be a lot smoother and not so rough) idk how to explain it!